Ticket and data management

• US 20060282280A1
• Filed: 05/11/2006
• Published: 12/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MetroTech Corporation Inc.
• Original Assignee: MetroTech Corporation Inc.
• Inventors: Stotz, Christian, Waite, James W.
• Application Number:
  US11/433,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20060282280A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

A locator including a processor; a memory configured to store location data; a locator circuitry coupled to the processor and configured to receive and process signals related to the location of a utility line; and a visual data input device coupled to the processor and configured to receive visual data, wherein the processor is adapted to reconfigure the location data based on the visual data.

Claims

1. A locator comprising:

a processor;

a memory configured to store location data;

a locator circuitry coupled to the processor and configured to receive and process signals related to the location of a utility line; and

a visual data input device coupled to the processor and configured to receive visual data, wherein the processor is adapted to reconfigure the location data based on the visual data.

2. The locator of claim 1, further comprising a communication interface adapted to communicate ticket data between the processor and an external database, wherein the ticket data includes the location data

3. The locator of claim 2 wherein the processor communicates the reconfigured ticket data to a network, wherein the reconfigured ticket data includes the reconfigured location data.

4. The locator of claim 3 wherein the network includes a device that is connected to the network, wherein the device is at least one of a user interface or the external database.

5. The locator of claim 4, wherein the external database synchronizes stored ticket data by updating the stored ticket data with the reconfigured ticket data.

6. The locator of claim 3, wherein the reconfigured ticket data includes at least one of the following:

ticket identification number, whether a utility line was located, whether a utility line needs confirmation, a type of the one or more utilities, the position of at least one utility line, the depth of at least one utility line, a locate frequency, an image, and an address.

7. The locator of claim 3 wherein the processor communicates with the network via a wired or wireless signal.

8. The locator of claim 2, wherein the ticket data includes at least one of the following:

ticket identification number and a type of the one or more utilities.

9. The locator of claim 1, further comprising a positioning receiver coupled to the processor and adapted to receive location data.

10. The locator of claim 9, wherein the positioning receiver is at least one of a GPS receiver, an inertial position tracking device and a range finder.

11. The locator of claim 1, wherein the visual data input device is at least one of a camera or a video recording device.

12. The locator of claim 1, further comprising an audio data input device coupled to the processor and adapted to receive audio data, wherein the reconfigured ticket data includes the audio data.

13. A ticket management system comprising:

a network;

an external database adapted to store ticket data and transmit ticket data to the network; and

a locator device adapted to receive ticket data from the network, wherein the locator device processes image data relating to a location of a utility line, reconfigures the ticket data based on the processed data, and communicates the reconfigured ticket data to the network.

15. The ticket management system of claim 13 wherein the network communicates the reconfigured ticket data to the external database.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising one or more utility databases adapted to store ticket data and communicate with the external database, the communication corresponding to at least the ticket data or the reconfigured ticket data.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the one or more utility databases synchronizes the ticket data with at least some of the updated ticket data from the external database.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the synchronization of the one or more utility databases automatically closes the ticket data record.

19. The system of claim 15 further comprising a center database wherein the center database communicates with the one or more utility databases or the external database through the network.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the center database creates the ticket data and transmits the ticket data to the one or more utility databases or the external database through the network.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the center database is synchronized with the at least some of the reconfigured ticket data from the one or more utility databases or the external database.

22. The system of claim 13 wherein the ticket data is downloadable data.

23. The system of claim 13 wherein the reconfigured ticket data is uploadable data.

24. The system of claim 13 wherein the locator device transmits the reconfigured ticket data to the network via a wired or wireless signal.

14. (canceled)

25. A method for reconfiguring ticket data at a locator, the method comprising:

storing location data at a memory;

capturing an image corresponding to a location of a utility line;

processing data based on the image; and

reconfiguring the location data based on the processed data.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising downloading ticket data to a locator from a network, wherein the ticket data includes entries for location data.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the network includes a device that is connected to the network, wherein the device is at least one of a user interface or an external database.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising transmitting the reconfigured ticket data to a network, wherein the reconfigured ticket data includes the reconfigured location data.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the reconfigured ticket data is uploadable data.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising detecting whether a signal has been received regarding a location of a utility line.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the detected signal is generated by a utility line or a utility line marker.

32. A locator comprising:

a processor;

a memory adapted to store location data

a locator circuitry coupled to the processor and adapted to receive and process signals related to the location of a utility line; and

a visual data input device coupled to the processor and adapted to receive visual data, wherein the processor is adapted to reconfigure the location data to include the visual data.

33. An apparatus for reconfiguring ticket data at a locator, the method comprising:

means for storing location data at a memory;

means for capturing an image corresponding to a location of a utility line;

means for processing data based on the image; and

means for reconfiguring the location data based on the processed data.